MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

Injury update

Carlos Marmol apparently strained a muscle on the inside of his left knee when he tried to field Albert Pujols’ line drive single in the eighth inning, and Aramis Ramirez strained his left calf when he hit a double in the second. Both will be re-examined on Saturday, and the Cubs will have a better idea as to how much time they could miss. Marmol scoffed at the idea of going on the DL; Ramirez said his leg was sore.

“It was a game of missed opportunities,” Lou Piniella said of the Cubs’ 4-3 loss to the Cardinals, “but more important than that it was a game where we lost two big components.”

The team already is playing one man short with Milton Bradley hampered by a sore groin. He can pinch-hit, but can’t run. If Ramirez is sidelined, that leaves Piniella with Derrek Lee, Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles and Ryan Theriot for the infield and that’s it.

“We’ve got no bench,” Piniella said. “We’re going to have to get somebody in here.”

Check in Saturday.

— Carrie Muskat

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5 Comments

Game of missed opportunites…yeah right. Game full of opportunites. All the lead off doubles and no runs. All the decent pitching and clutch hits by the Cards. i hope the Cubs players and front office look in the mirror and see what the problem is. I’m sick and tired of hearing this team will coem around. You think this Cubs team is a divison champ…HAHA no this team is a avg ball club with a payroll way too high for their own good. Someone is going to the DL. Who it is remains to be seen but whoever it is will be a problem. Where that debt Lou and Jim???? Oh yeah…you didnt know they would all be gone at once….by the way the bullpen just became the worst in the Central

As a Cardinals fan, I hope we win every game between the two teams who in my opinion have the best rivalry in baseball (certainly in the National League). I rarely visit other sites, unlike (ahem) several of your’s, but I wanted to say I was sorry that two of your best went down last night and won’t be available…I want us to whip your butts every time, but I want to do it against your best players. I do think, however, (personal bias coming up) that you’re fortunate that Bradley’s not playing…a move that you made which I think will come back to haunt you.

Everybody commenting on this topic is on fire, especially…
montanapete the CARDS FAN! I couldn’t agree with a Card’s fan more. I feel the same about beating the Card’s EVERY TIME but realize it ain’t gonna happen until we learn from them, how to play ball and to SHOW UP at every game.
I’m come on, I’ll trade our GM for theirs in heartbeat! Hendry should write a book, teach a class etc on “How to dismantle a winning team in 3 easy steps” Those steps being: 1. Retain Jim Hendry as GM, 2. Retain Jim Hendy as GM, 3.Retain Jim Hendry as GM. I’ve said it before numerous times and you’re probably sick of my mantra but I’m going to repeat myself relentlessly in hopes that Crane Kenney or whoever can pull themselves away from the “board room” will hear my plea…LET HENDRY GO,
for the love of all that’s sane, hire ME or anybody that gets out of bed everyday and REMEMBERS…Cubs, NATIONAL LEAGUE. I am so sick and tired of Hendry trading/signing for one-dimensional DH type of players! AND signing the good ones juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust as they are about to enter their twilight years. Ramirez of course being the exception, and how he pulled that off must have been a miracle or an assistan did it. OR trading the RARE player that IS in his prime (DeRosa)…for what? To make sure he doesn’t walk and “burn” your sorry *** in his free agent year? THEN don’t sign him, but for crying out loud get another year out of a very good player and avoid the “Who’s at third” comedy routine WHEN Ramirez is unavailable. Did he
think Ramirez would play 140 to 162 games? WAKE UP JIMMY!! DeRosa vs. Fontenot = WEAKER TEAM. Bradley vs. Ibanez = WEAKER TEAM. Lee vs. Haufpauir = WEAKER TEAM.
Vizcaino vs. Marquis = WEAKER TEAM. Oh yeay, Hendry ALREADY dumped the guy he traded Marquis for. How do justify that deal Jim? Did you make the team better by just dumping Marquis’ salary AND NOW Vizcaino’s? Thinking none of us would figure out your inneptitude? NO, you just made the payroll lighter, not a BETTER TEAM.

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